About nine in ten adults aged 25 to 54 in Rawlins County, Kansas, have a job
In Rawlins County, 9.7% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rawlins County's score
In Rawlins County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 48.6. Jobs are the lowest part, at 8.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rawlins County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Rawlins County is worse off than most counties on people with a disability (19.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 48.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line10.8% · 202429th percentile
- Children below the poverty line14.9% · 202438th percentile
- People with a disability19.6% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- People without health insurance6.5% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,247 · 202460th percentile
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- 30.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202537th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202538th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score30.2% · second quarter of 202613th percentile
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- 28.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.2% · August 202519th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202536th percentile
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- 25.0 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent3.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.2% · fiscal year 202744th percentile
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- 8.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202612th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working9.7% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Rawlins County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Rawlins County, 27.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rawlins County
Kansas
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Rawlins County had its largest rise, from 19.9% in 1999 to 31.8% in 2004.
In Rawlins County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 22.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Rawlins County, Kansas, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Rawlins County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 3.7% in 2011 to 6.2% in 2012; 9.2% in 2022 to 11.7% in 2023.
The share of households in Rawlins County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 3.7% in 2011. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rawlins County, Kansas.
How Rawlins County has changed
Rawlins County's population fell by about half to 2,432, the lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1969 to 1974, reaching 4,050. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rawlins County, Kansas.
The number of jobs located in Rawlins County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 1,023 in 2000 to 857 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Rawlins County was about the same in 2025 as in 1990, after reaching its lowest on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 846 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rawlins County, Kansas.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.7% | 2025 2.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.0% | 2024 10.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,188 | 2024 $63,247 |
The table uses 2.8% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Rawlins County's history
1873
Established March 20, 1873. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 7,362. The 2020 Census counted 2,561, 35% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 2005
10 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rawlins County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rawlins County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Rawlins County, in Kansas and Nebraska, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rawlins County ranks 6th of the eight; Hitchcock County is highest, at 33.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hitchcock County, NE | 30 | 13.4% | 33.1% |
| Red Willow County, NE | 27 | 11.2% | 25.8% |
| Sherman County, KS | 27 | 12.4% | 27.0% |
| Decatur County, KS | 20 | 11.9% | 26.0% |
| Cheyenne County, KS | 19 | 11.6% | 25.7% |
| Rawlins County, KS | 14 | 10.8% | 22.6% |
| Thomas County, KS | 9 | 9.7% | 19.5% |
| Dundy County, NE | 8 | 12.9% | 21.4% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Rawlins County the poorest county in Kansas?
No, Rawlins County's poverty rate was 10.8% in 2024, 62nd highest of 105 in Kansas (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Riley County, at 18.1%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Rawlins County ranks 78th of 105 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rawlins County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Kansas Legal Services
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Rawlins County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Rawlins County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.